Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I’m visiting The Romance Studio – the Rainbow blog – and talking about the setting for Seeking Kokopelli, which is out in print this week. I hope you’ll visit because I’ve included some of my holiday snaps.

Here’s the link to The Romance Studio

A book is a sum of things—characters, setting and description, dialogue, pace and plot. It’s the combination of all of these elements, done in the right way that makes a book exciting and sought after by readers.

It takes a lot of work to get a book to a standard that’s saleable. My first drafts are like white boxes. People inhabit the white box—my characters that is, but they’re quiet and in shock from the lack of scenery. It’s all white in there, after all.

During the first stages, my characters are a bit superficial and half the time they have no idea what they’re doing, what their purpose is in the box. It’s almost like the first run through of a play where the cast are strangers and feeling their way into their parts.

It’s during the second and third run through that I add the color and turn my white box into a real world, complete with real people. Adding setting and description is a skill I’ve fought to learn—it certainly doesn’t come naturally.

Not so long ago, it was normal to read very flowery descriptions in books. These days descriptions in fiction are briefer and spare at times.

Here’s a paragraph from Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer.

The Apparition wore a coat of the palest apricot cloth, with a flowered vest of fine brocade, and startling white small-clothes. Red-heeled shoes were on his feet, and his stockings were adorned by sprawling golden clocks. He carried an amber-clouded can and a jeweled snuff-box, while ever and anon he raised a cobwebby handkerchief to his aristocratic nose. He minced down the street towards the market-place, followed by the awestricken glances of an amazed population.

That’s a lot of description for one person, although I have to say I’d love to see him in person. You probably won’t find this amount of description in a modern romance, not focused on one person. We’re more likely to add it in more sparingly in bits and pieces.

This snippet is taken from Dark Lover by JR Ward.

When she was finished with the Twinkie, she flipped open her phone, hit speed dial, and put in an order for beef with broccoli. As she walked along, she looked at the familiar, grim landmarks. Along this stretch of Trade Street, there were only bars, strip clubs, and the occasional tattoo parlor. The Chinese food place and the Tex-Mex buffet were the only two restaurants. The rest of the buildings, which had been used as offices in the twenties, when downtown had been thriving, were vacant. She knew every crack in the sidewalk; she could time the traffic lights. And the patois of sounds drifting out of open doors and windows offered no surprises either.

With this paragraph, we get a little characterization along with a feel for the neighborhood. We learn that although the district is run down, the place is home for our heroine.

In another book, that shall remain nameless, the description of a room sounded like a shopping list. It mentioned an antique rug, hardwood floors, a Victorian sofa and the color of the brocade, a coffee table and the type of wood, the silver tea service on top, two Victorian chairs, a gas fireplace, silver-framed photo frames, the photos inside them, the mantelpiece, a cherry and glass counter and quite a few other things.

The actual story wasn’t too bad, but this description, done list style, made me roll my eyes. I’ve edited the list quite a bit. The descriptions took up over half a page.

What I try to do is show the character experiencing the setting, give sensory details. I show them walking across a thick carpet and wondering if their shoes are going to get lost in the pile or holding out their hands to catch snowflakes, feeling the cold and dampness or tasting it melt on their tongue. They might notice the cars buried in snow or hear the chains on the tires as they fight for purchase. I try to involve the character’s senses of sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing to make the description come alive.

Here’s a paragraph taken from Tea For Two by Shelley Munro

“I see a line of dots.” Hayley Williams peered solemnly into her customer’s white china teacup. Outside her colorful curtain-partitioned area of the tea tent, children shrieked with excitement as they lined up for the Ferris wheel and merry-go-round. Her assistant chatted to one of the ladies in charge of the tea, extolling the high points of a reading by Madam Deveraux. Somewhere in the distance, a toddler howled and a brass band played “Rock Around the Clock”. Closer, touts shouted spasmodically about the exciting things available at their stalls. The clatter of china and the muted gossip of the ladies in the makeshift café added to the cacophony of fairground sounds.

For me this is actually quite a long description, but I hope it plops you right in the middle of a fairground.

When it comes to describing characters, I’m typically very brief because as a reader, I like to imagine myself as the heroine. If there’s too much description I think it gets in the way of my imagination. Just a brief hair color, eyes, build etc is all I need. You might think differently.

How much description do you like to read in your books? Do you like lots of description or a bare minimum? Do you like detailed description of characters? And writers: what approach do you use when it comes to description? Do you have a white box like me or is your world colorful from the start?

The theme for this week is setting. Since I live in New Zealand many of my books are set in my home country because I enjoy showcasing it. Shades of Peter Jackson and Lord of the Rings. I like to think of setting as another character and definitely an important part of any book.

Although I usually use New Zealand as my setting, I’ve used India in Wanderlust and today I’m doing a spotlight on Lynx to the Pharaoh, which is set in Egypt. Don’t forget to check out my photo album (link above) for photos to stir your imagination.

Lynx to the Pharaoh by Shelley Munro

A blood-red moon shone over the desert, tinting the rocks and sand scarlet. An omen, the locals whispered as they bolted for their camel-skin tents, dropped the flaps and hid from the fearsome sight.

Sethmet Khalil stared into the night, sensing the upheaval in the air with every particle of his tense body. Muscles twitched beneath his skin, itching for the freedom of a nocturnal run across the dunes at the edge of the oasis. It was his normal routine, but tonight he resisted, testing the air. Listening.

Evil whispered from the shadows. Menace thrummed in the air, making the night birds jabber uneasily on their roosts. Sethmet sensed danger too but had no intention of running to hide like the villagers. His was a secret duty, sworn in blood many centuries ago and passed down through the generations from father to son. A sacred promise to the pharaoh to protect the tombs of the cat.

The wind picked up, sending the scent of exotic spices and perfumes swirling through the air. The papyrus reeds on the edge of the lake rattled, warning of the approaching storm.

With a loose-boned gait Sethmet walked from the oasis, past the caravanserai—the inn where travelers resided—and past the pens where restless camels were hobbled for the night. When the faint glow of lamps and candlelight faded, he rapidly stripped off his boots and stockings, coat, silk cravat, shirt and finally his trousers. He stuffed them under a rock he’d used in the past and stood for an instant to let the chill of the rising wind caress his body. His broad chest rose and fell and he let the cat take him, reveling in the pleasure-pain of the transformation from man to beast. Bones lengthened, stretched. Hands converted to clawed paws and a fine brownish-red fur formed on his skin. Sethmet dropped to all fours, his large fur-tufted ears twitching with pleasure and the buzz of intensified senses.

As a caracal, he tested the air. Along with the storm and the myriad scents from the oasis, he smelled the campfires of the English tourists. Sethmet had visited them already in his position as family head, hiring out his guiding services in order to keep an eye on them—a case where his years of education in England helped. Amusement flicked through his mind when he recalled his loud protests about leaving Egypt. Now with a few years of added maturity, he recognized the benefits to both him and his family.

A burst of wind whistled over the hill. A sandstorm fast approached, allowing the bloody moon to play peekaboo behind the clouds. The air sizzled with tension, communicating unease and something out of tune with nature. His eyes scanned the vicinity for anything suspicious. He listened. Nothing. Apart from the coming storm, all seemed as it should.

Sethmet’s slow trot hastened into a full-out run, just for the pleasure of feeling his muscles work and for the heady rush of air blowing through his coat. He rounded the end of a rolling dune, his sharp eyes picking up the Englishmen’s camp at the base of the next sand hill. The tents rattled faintly, the white canvas billowing with the building storm. The flicker of a lamp caught his attention, moving slowly away from the glowing embers of the campfire. Sethmet checked the air, smelling for danger again and paused in surprise. Subtle perfume—flowers of the lilac. Woman.

Sethmet sat on his haunches, blinking while he considered this new development. It was unusual for Englishwomen to come to his family’s oasis because it was so far from the big towns, several long days of riding camels that tested the temperament of a strong man let alone a delicate female. Perhaps she came with one of the local men. A wife or a lover. He hadn’t seen nor smelled evidence of her in the camp when he’d visited earlier. Not that the Englishmen had welcomed him with open arms.

Secretive bastards. He knew they were treasure hunters, intent on raping the pharaoh’s tomb. The greedy expression in their eyes when they thought no one noticed gave them away. No, they hadn’t made him welcome. They’d conducted business, looking down their sharp English noses at him. Sethmet blinked, thoughts of the treasure hunters dissolving as the light moved farther away. The steady retreat of the light piqued his curiosity.

On the unprotected side of the dunes, the wind tugged his fur, blew particles of sand in his eyes, bringing discomfort. He never considered ending his pursuit because something inside the cat urged him to keep following the bobbing light. A flash of white petticoat told him he’d almost caught the woman. His heart beat harder, faster.

Would she take fright at seeing the cat? Probably. Shifting wasn’t an option, not with an Englishwoman present. Nudity made them nervous. They didn’t even like to look at their own bodies. No, shifting wouldn’t work….

To purchase a copy of Lynx to the Pharaoh go here.

To read excerpts from other authors follow the links below:

Beth Kery
Michelle Pillow
Beth Williamson
Eliza Gayle
McKenna Jeffries
Moira Rogers
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Lauren Dane
Leah Braemel
TJ Michaels
Victoria Janssen
Jody Wallace

My guest today is fellow New Zealander and author Suzanne Perazzini. Like me, Suzanne is a keen traveler. Check her website to see some of the places she’s visited! Today she’s telling us about how she works out her setting and giving her top five favorite places to visit.

One of the first things I have to decide before putting my fingers on the keyboard to start a new manuscript is the setting. Once I have the physical surroundings clear in my mind then I can imagine my characters living their lives there.

As a writer the decision is to set the story:

1) in a setting we are familiar with so the visuals come readily and we can translate our vision onto paper without breaking a sweat or
2) in a setting that exists but with which we are not familiar or
3) in an invented setting – a world created by our imagination.

For me, the answer is always the first. I have travelled to more than 40 of the 200 or so countries of the world, and it seems obvious that I should put my knowledge to good use. If the memories are not always crystal clear, then there are a myriad of photographs in my albums to jog my memory.

Here are my five favourite places to visit (I’ve used them all in different books), and according to me, the most beautiful. I will count them down from 5 to 1.

5) The Scottish Highlands.
I loved Scotland when we visited – rain and all. My mother is a Macdonald and so their blood runs thick through my veins. I felt at home there with its dramatic history of deprivation and the eerie folklore of the land. The atmosphere was laden with mystery and I was overwhelmed by its beauty.

4) The Yasawa Islands in Fiji.
I lived and taught in Fiji for a year on Volunteer Service Abroad when I was eighteen and fell in love with Fiji. I spent one school holiday on Yasawa-I-Rara, the northern-most island of the Yasawa Islands before any businessman had decided it had the potential to make him a heap of money in the form of an exclusive resort. Unfortunately this influx of tourism is killing the beautiful, multi-colored coral as luxury boats cruise the waters, polluting the seas. But there are still many unspoilt areas in Fiji if you know where to go.

3) The Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia.
This ancient complex of temples, which is visually, artistically and architecturally breathtaking, was at its power between the 9th and 12th centuries. It was rediscovered hidden in dense jungle in 1860 by Henri Mouhot. The first Tomb Raider movie was partially filmed here and a more haunting place you would have difficulty finding.

2) My uncle’s fishing and hunting lodge on the Zambezi River in Zambia.
Eight hour’s four-wheel-vehicle driving from the main road, this paradise on earth is truly isolated. Overlooking the mighty Zambezi River, it has views straight across into the wilderness of Zimbabwe. The brilliant red sunsets and sunrises blow your mind. Visit in winter when the heat is not too overwhelming and most creepy crawlies are hibernating.

1) Rome.

As you can probably guess from my choices above, I am not a city lover and yet Rome is my number one choice. I have seen it several times and each time, it takes my breath away. Every corner you turn has another magnificent monument to the artistry and creativeness as well as tenacity of man. Each building has a history and glory that makes you want to touch and smell and absorb its essence.

Staying in Rome transports you to another time when life was very, very different from today and yet when man essentially was just the same. Our need for beauty has never waned.

So authors, which of the three methods do you use when constructing your settings for your stories? And a question for readers: what was the setting in the last book you read? What settings attract you most? And are there any settings you’d like to read in a romance but haven’t yet?

Suzanne’s Website
Suzanne’s blog

Books available:
Beneath the Surface – buy now.
Rough Justice – buy now.
Crash into Darkness – buy now.